Bee happy: sweetening income for sponsored children’s families in Mongolia

Employment has been a challenging issue for community members in the Selenge project. But your support in this community through child sponsorship has helped these families break out of the cycle of poverty. Here's how ...

In Mongolia, it’s common for families to rely on seasonal work for their income. However, this leaves families unable to provide food and the basics for their children at times when there is no work.

For 50 members of the community and their families, including many sponsored children – life became very different after World Vision introduced a project that would have them earning a sustainable income all year round.

"In 2010, World Vision assisted families in the Selenge project to establish a solidarity group that joined together to be trained and supported in bee keeping."

World Vision provided the solidarity group with 50 bee hives as a loan to repay over time and began training the families in bee farming.

Since the group was established two years ago, the community members not only repaid the loan of bees completely but also became able to support other newly formed solidarity groups and share their experiences.

Before, they were like other unemployed seasonally working people without a sustainable income to support their families. Now, their monthly income is about 400.000 tugriks, which is two times that of the national labour income average and means families are able to provide the necessary school resources in addition to food every day.

"Because of the extra income, one young family from the solidarity group were able to buy their own home – a huge success that demonstrates how small initiatives can transform the futures of children and families in the community."

As their income has increased, the solidarity group members have been supporting the wider community. They use additional income to present gifts to 10 children from vulnerable families every New Year. They also provided 10 kilograms of bee honey to their community last July.

Along with the benefit the bee farming has to family’s income, it also benefits the forests too. Group members are protecting forests they use for bee farming, which means reduced chances of fires, less illegal logging and better environmental outcomes for their children in the future.

The solidarity group now has 180 bee hives. Bee farming has become a source of happiness for over 50 families, including Australian sponsored children – creating sustainable incomes for their future.

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